Friday, January 16, 2015

Transition phase (round 2)

Fight!

I am literally going through the advanced version of what I went through to get where I am today. I'm almost done with my Master's...just gotta write the thesis and get all the bureaucratic stuff handled before I go on to the next step:

PhD

When I started this academic journey, I didn't think that's what I wanted to do. But now, I can't really imagine doing anything else.

I've had a bit of time to reflect and think about what I want. I also read the last few posts of my old blog...and I really want to tell myself (both then and now) "ssshhh everything is going to be alright"

The one that really struck me is this post about what options I had. Everything back then was so touch and go...but I can say with 100% surety that I did the right thing.

My current situation is essentially the same (after finishing that the tiny issue of writing my thesis). Essentially I have:

Plan A: Do a PhD in Global Studies at Humboldt University. Basically the same as what I did for MA but between two countries instead of three and I basically have to write a book at the end. My current thesis advisor has already agreed to be my Doktorvater, and has said would support me in the application process. The only problem is that I would need to find funding somewhere else (like the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Hansen Stiftung, Heinrich-Boll Stiftung, blahblahblah)

Plan B: Do a PhD at the Berlin Graduate School of Transnational Studies. This would be all included but, I think it's also much more competitive. I also think that this would be the best choice in terms of resources available. It's a cooperation between Freie Universität, Hertie School of Governance, and the Social Science Research Center Berlin, all of which are great institutions.

Plan C: Do a MA-TESL certificate in Egypt at the American University Cairo. This option is really attractive to me because it's all paid and basically I'd be learning Arabic the entire time, teaching a few classes in English a week, and getting a certificate at the end.

Plan D: Do a PhD in Gießen. Based on the location, not as attractive as the others but would be paid.

Plan E: Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences. Mostly, I just like the acronym BIGSSS. Similarly to Gießen, it's not very geographically attractive, but the program seems solid.

Plan F: European University Viadrina at Frankfurt (Oder). I got into grad school here but this is another story. Also, not paid.

Plan G: Freie Universität Berlin. Talked to a professor here who is doing a really interesting project on social inequality and transnational human capital, which is similar to what I'm interested in doing. He mentioned there might be a new project for next year but that would be a year too late for me. Also, not paid.

It would be awesome if I had the same success rate for PhD programs as I did for MA. I catch myself going through the exact same pattern of "what if I don't get in anywhere/no I'll get in somewhere/BUT what if I don't get in anywhere??" and it's nice to know that it can possibly work out. I made it this far...still, this is a completely different level of difficulty. Oh well, all I can do is try (and by that I mean obsess over applications for the next half year) and see what happens.